


make me thrill as only you know how

by thotsandfeelings



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Series, mainly pointless, some mild eluding to smut but nothing explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:14:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28182222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thotsandfeelings/pseuds/thotsandfeelings
Summary: “You know, when you said you had a fun drinking game in mind for tonight, I thought you meant ‘take a drink every time Lou rolls her eyes’ or something. Not tequila shots in the corner of a black-tie inaugural ball.”
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 19
Kudos: 94





	make me thrill as only you know how

Josh realizes his girlfriend’s a genius as soon as she slides the tequila shot in front of him. 

“Give me your hand,” she orders and Josh follows her instructions happily. He bites his lip to stop the groan from slipping out when she licks the space between his thumb and forefinger before sprinkling some salt along the wetness and doing the same to her own hand. 

He’s completely transfixed on the red of her lips as she sticks her tongue between her teeth playfully. 

“Ready?”

Josh nods. “You first,” he says before he puts the lime rind-first in his mouth. 

Donna grabs his hand again, her eyes twinkling in the low light of the ballroom, and she licks the salt off of him, downs the shot, and leans forward to suck the lime from his mouth and into hers, her eyes closing tight as the bitterness hits her taste buds. 

Josh grins as she drops the rind on a napkin before leaning forward subconsciously and kissing the drip of lime juice still on her bottom lip away. 

“My turn,” he murmurs and he picks up her hand. He looks up at her, keeping eye contact as he licks the salt off her, downs the shot, and sucks the lime out of her mouth, cooling the burn of tequila down his throat. 

He shakes his head and lets out a high pitched “hoo!” and Donna laughs at him. 

“One down,” she says and grabs his beer off the bar, taking a sip. “Eight to go.”

“You know, when you said you had a fun drinking game in mind for tonight, I thought you meant ‘take a drink every time Lou rolls her eyes’ or something. Not tequila shots in the corner of a black-tie inaugural ball.”

Donna smirks and moves to fix his bow tie. “Are you complaining?”

Josh wraps his arm around her waist, fingering the silk of her ball gown. “Not at all.” He glances down to her lips, noting internally that the shade of pink they turn after sucking on a lime is rather becoming. “But it might get a little dangerous later on.”

“Oh, I’m counting on that,” she says innocently and pecks him on the cheek before disappearing into the throng of people. 

* * *

Josh gets to the fourth ball much later than everyone else, having been waylaid by a group of freshman democrats all gunning for time with the newly sworn in president. He spots Donna over with Sam by the obscenely long food table and sneaks up behind her, running his hands around her waist. 

“My Joshua,” she says, a big smile on her face as she leans into him, her hand reaching back to pat his cheek. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“Sorry I’m late,” he murmurs, kissing her cheek and reaching around her to steal some fries from her plate. “These new Congressmen are ruthless.” He nudges Sam with his shoulder. “You got your work cut out for you, buddy.”

Sam laughs. “Why do you think I’m hiding in a corner? I saw you get swarmed and ran out as fast as I could.”

Josh snorts and squeezes Donna’s hips. “Shall we? We missed the last one.”

She nods. “Sam’s coming this time, too.”

“Fine, but I’m not taking a lime from his mouth.”

Donna smirks and reaches behind her for his hand, leading him over to the bar. 

“Aren’t we getting too old for shots?” Sam asks as the bartender pours the drinks. 

“Probably,” Josh replies, licking his own hand this time and grabbing the salt shaker from Donna. Once they’re all situated, he raises his shot glass and they follow suit. “To President Santos.”

“Bottoms up, boys,” Donna says and they all clink glasses before licking the salt, taking the shot, and shove limes in their mouths. 

“Definitely too old,” Sam says, grimacing comically and asking the bartender for a ginger ale. “I need to go find my fiancée,” he states and walks away without another word. 

Josh turns to face Donna, crowding her against the bar. “How ya doin’?” he murmurs, his blood starting to buzz happily from the alcohol. 

Donna trails her hand up his chest, a small smile on her face as she looks up at him. “You’re very handsome tonight,” she muses and his hand lands on her waist. “Chief of Staff.”

Josh grins as her hand continues to wander. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Chief of Staff.” He leans in slowly, resting his forehead against hers, and she brings her other hand up to his cheek and guides him the rest of the way, kissing him slowly and deliberately. Josh’s grip on her waist tightens when her tongue peeks out against his lips, and he opens for her willingly, moaning quietly when her hand moves to tug on his hair. 

She pulls back after a moment, smiling serenely and biting her bottom lip. “Maybe a little too handsome.”

Josh chuckles and kisses down her cheek as he pulls her into a hug. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the room tonight,” he murmurs, tugging on her earlobe lightly with his teeth. He’s just about to suggest a walk to somewhere a little more private when he hears someone call his name behind him. He groans into Donna’s neck and she giggles quietly before nudging him away from her. 

“Later,” she promises and squeezes his hand as they’re bombarded by the National Park’s Director. 

* * *

The seventh, eighth, and final ninth ball of the night are thankfully all at the White House. It’s just past midnight and Donna’s chatting with the First Lady and some members of the Women’s Caucus. She’s about to excuse herself when she feels hands on her arms. 

“Excuse me, ladies, can I steal Donna for a minute?” Josh asks, not waiting for a real answer before dragging Donna away and out of the ball room completely. 

“Thank you,” she says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I swear I’m a feminist, Josh, but honest to God, those women are so _stupid_. They’re gonna set us back 20 years if they have their way.”

Josh chuckles. “Well, it’s a good thing you and Helen are here to whip them into shape.”

“Where are we going anyway?” she asks, lacing her fingers with his as he leads her past the Oval. “Your office is back there now, remember?”

“The President was headed that way and I want some privacy.”

He leads her into their old bullpen, a sly smile on his face as she walks into his (now empty) old office and sees the spread he snuck over earlier on the desk. 

“Honestly, Josh, I don’t say it enough, but you’re a genius.”

“I have my moments,” he quips and shuts all three doors, locking them for good measure, before sitting next to her in one of the visitor chairs. “This room has always felt like a little home away from home anyway.”

“I think you spent more time here than your actual home during the first administration,” she says, sliding her shoes off and tucking her legs beneath her as she snags a shrimp puff. 

“You’re probably right.” He pops a grape into his mouth and grazes her forearm with his fingertips. “I don’t see that problem surfacing this time around though.”

“No?”

“Knowing you’re at home waiting for me is pretty good incentive,” he murmurs and leans forward to kiss her quickly. 

She hums. “That’s good to know.”

“Yes.”

He pops another grape into his mouth and smiles at her sweetly. His eyes look tired, but bright, and he’s nowhere near the mess she thought she’d find him in.

“You’re not drunk.”

“Nope.”

“How?”

He rolls his eyes. “Contrary to your belief, Donna, I do _not_ have a sensitive system. I can hold my alcohol.”

“You really can’t,” she says, arching an eyebrow. “This room can attest to that.”

“That was a long time ago,” he argues. “I’ve grown since then.”

“You’ve been drinking water all night instead of champagne, haven’t you?” He peers up at her and she chuckles at the look on his face as he tries to remain innocent. She stands and reaches for his hand, pulling him up in front of her, and she wraps her arms around his neck. “So have I.”

He grins and sways them gently. “I had some champagne at first, but switched when it got past 9:30,” he admits. “And we both got pulled away and couldn’t finish our little drinking game.” He shrugs. “I have plans for you tonight anyway and I didn’t want to ruin them by getting sloshed.”

“The lime parts were fun, though,” she says, her voice low, and she licks her lips. 

“Yes, they were,” he agrees and he kisses her, but pulls back abruptly. “Hey– this is the first time we’ve danced tonight.”

“We were busy,” she shrugs. 

“We can go back out there if you want,” he says, starting to pull back, but she holds on tighter. 

“No,” she protests, almost whining. “We’ll get pulled away before a song even finishes.” She runs her fingers through his hair. “And this is nice.”

“You sure?” He wraps his arms around her waist. “There’s no music.”

“It’s romantic,” she whispers and leans her head on his shoulder. “And I can almost hear the music coming from the East Room.”

Josh settles against her, smiling into her hair as they make a slow circle in the dim light of his old office. This is what he’s been waiting for all night long. Not the big bands, not making deals with senators, not even catching up with Chief Justice Baker Lang. The only thing he’s wanted to do since he woke up this morning was dance with Donna. 

“You have plans for me?” she asks after awhile, running her nails up and down his back under his tux jacket, making him shiver. 

He kisses her shoulder. “Mhmm. Big plans. Sexy plans.”

She smiles and leans back so she can look at him. “What do these big, sexy plans entail?”

“Well,” he says matter-of-factly, “I was thinking I’d start by telling you how incredible this dress looks on you.”

“Flattery is always a good start,” she agrees. 

“I mean it, Donna. You took my breath away when I saw you tonight. I’m the luckiest man here. Many people have told me so.” He kisses the light blush rising on her cheek and his hand trails down to cup her backside. “I’ve been insanely turned on all night.”

“So my tequila trick worked then?” she asks smugly and Josh pulls her further into his body. 

“If by ‘tequila trick’ you mean _licking_ me and sucking a lime from my mouth all seductively, then yes. It absolutely worked. Next time you don’t even need the tequila.”

“Duly noted,” Donna laughs and steers them back so she can hop up on the desk. “What’s next in this elaborate plan of yours?”

Josh shrugs off his tux jacket and throws it on one of the chairs before leaning in and kissing a path up her neck and jaw. “I figured my sexual aptitude would speak for itself,” he mumbles and he cups her breasts lightly in his hands, feeling their weight reverently as he continues to nip at her skin. 

“And was the nostalgic visit to Ops wish-fulfillment or muscle memory?” she asks, a little breathless under his ministrations. She wraps her ankle around his leg, thankful she chose the dress with the slit, and she grabs handfuls of his hair to drag his lips back to hers. 

Josh groans and leaves one of her breasts to grab onto her thigh, hitching it more securely around him. “Maybe a little bit of both.”

“So you _did_ think about it,” she mumbles against his lips. “I always knew you had a crush on me.”

She can feel him roll his eyes and her smile widens. “I did not have a _crush_.”

“You did,” she encourages. “Girls always know.”

“Is this another Lesson of Love by Donnatella Moss?”

“Well, clearly you need them since this took eight years.” She tugs on his hair. “You missed the signs.”

Josh grins. “What I’m hearing is that _you_ had a crush on _me_.” He kisses up her jaw, sucking a little on her skin. Enough to make her moan, but not leave a mark. 

“Josh,” she sighs, distracted by his roaming hands under the slit of her dress. “We both had stupid crushes. Grow up.”

“You started it,” he mumbles and he steps even closer until they’re completely pressed against each other. It takes his brain a second to catch up, but he pulls away from her lips. “What signs?”

“Lots of signs,” she murmurs, trying to pull him back in again, but he won’t budge. “Like this sign,” she tugs one more time on his neck, but he just grins at her and holds his ground.”

“These signs,” he murmurs, trailing his fingers up and down her thigh, “don’t count.”

“Well, they haven’t really changed,” she says. “I’ve always used any reason to touch you,” she squeezes his shoulders, “or be close to you.” She moves her hands to his bowtie and undoes it slowly. She can feel Josh’s breath on her face and she smiles when he leans in subconsciously. 

“I knew about those. What else? What did I miss?”

“There were little ones that we’d give each other. I think we both, at least subconsciously, knew that we had each other in the back of our minds.” She moves her hands back up to his shoulders and around his neck. “Like you giving me flowers in April just to get a rise out of me.”

“It’s our anniversary,” he says, smirking, and she pinches the back of his neck. 

“It’s really not,” she answers, not unkindly. “It was your convoluted way of claiming victory. Reminding me who I chose in the end.”

“You make me sound like a caveman.”

She grins, tightening her hold around him and pulling him in for a brief kiss. “Because you _were_. You weren’t as sneaky as you thought. I let you sabotage all those dates, you know.” He opens his mouth to argue, but she just kisses him again. “But I finally showed my cards with that redlights line.”

Josh hums and sneaks his fingers into the open back of her dress. “You plastered me to the wall with that one.”

“That was a sign.”

“What else did I miss?”

Donna sighs and leans her head back as he kisses down her throat. “Christmas four years ago.” She whimpers when he sucks her earlobe into his mouth. “I knew you wanted me to stay, but you wouldn’t answer the damn question honestly.”

“I couldn’t,” he whispers, resting his forehead on her shoulder. “I wasn’t ready.”

“I know.”

Josh leans back and looks at her, sweeping her hair back behind her ear, and smiling a little sadly. “I wanted to do this at the last inaugural ball we went to, you know.”

She nods and hooks her leg more firmly around his. “You only made one error that night.”

“What?”

“You should’ve come to get me by yourself.”

He puts his tongue in his cheek as she smirks up at him. “I needed backup,” he shrugs. “You wouldn’t listen to just me. You had to see for yourself that no one was mad at you.”

“You were very suave,” she murmurs, fiddling with the tie still hanging around his neck. “Standing there in your tux and throwing snowballs at my window like some kind of modern Romeo.”

“Well, I know what women want.”

“I don’t know,” she teases, “you missed my ‘kiss me’ signs all night.”

“Your _kiss me_ signs?”

“You know,” she answers, “when you’re with a woman and she keeps licking her bottom lip to get your attention. Or when she brushes something from your arm that isn’t really there.” Donna lifts her hand and picks imaginary lint off his shoulder. “She gets real close and you can almost feel her breath.” She smiles when Josh leans in. “And she pulls back just a little bit to look you in the eye, then down to your lips.” Donna does just that and Josh’s hand fists the material of her dress to keep her close. 

His breathing comes out heavier. “That’s your ‘kiss me’ sign?”

She nods. “It was that night. You were just refusing to cooperate.” She pulls him to her by the ends of his bow tie, still smiling as she watches him close his eyes. “I think I can be a little more obvious now, though.”

Josh smiles and wraps her up tight in his arms, one of his palms searing her thigh as he hitches it higher on his waist and kisses her thoroughly. “You know, my plans didn’t necessarily involve us having sex on government property.” He kisses across her jaw and back to her mouth, stifling her groan when he grinds into her and she feels what she’s been doing to him all night. 

“I figured you locked the doors for a reason,” she pants, squeaking when the hand on her thigh moves under her dress and rubs at her through her underwear. He moans when his finger hooks into the tiny lace string around her hip and he tugs her off the desk so he can palm her bare ass. 

“It’s a good thing I didn’t know what you had on underneath this because we never would’ve made it past the first ball.”

Donna tugs on his hair and sits him down on the chair again before climbing onto his lap, her dress hiked up on her waist. 

“I had plans for you, too,” she says, her eyes dark as she moves on top of him. “Mine included our bed, but I can work with this.” She kisses him deeply. “If you’re okay with sex on government property, that is.”

“God, just–“ he moves his hands to his belt buckle as he continues to kiss her, ignoring her giggles as he fumbles with it until he finally gets the zipper down. “Come here.”

* * *

Josh has a smooth expression on his face as he and Donna re-enter the party. Her hair is now flowing around her shoulders rather than up in it’s intricate twist like before, and she turns to wipe off a lipstick mark still on his neck. He squeezes her waist and kisses her cheek. 

“You wanna dance?” He smirks. “Officially this time?”

She nods, still smiling serenely from their tryst in his old office, and lets him lead her to the dance floor. He fashions them into a standard dance pose, but pulls her closer than he used to when they’d dance at these parties. 

“How long until someone interrupts us?” she asks, her hand playing with his hair. 

“I give it about 45 more seconds.”

She hums and buries her nose into his skin, breathing deep. “I better make the most of them, then.”

Josh tightens his arm around her waist. “I can’t believe it took us so long to christen the White House.”

She laughs into his neck. “Well, like I said earlier,” she leans back, “you missed the signs.”

His dimples peek out as he grins happily at her. “How am I doin’ now?” he asks, kissing her soundly.

“Pretty good, I must say.”

He glances around the room. “You think anyone knows?”

She smirks and just gives him a look. “Josh, look at me.”

He does just that, looking her up and down, and twirling her for good measure. “You look pretty damn good to me.”

“To your standards, maybe.”

Josh runs his fingers into her hair, giving her his dimples again. “You look hot. For anyone’s standards.”

“I look like I just had sex.”

“Like I said,” he murmurs, “you look hot.”

“You’re a caveman.”

He’s about to kiss her again when he hears “Donna!” being shouted behind him. He exhales loudly and looks at his watch. “I’ll give us 30 more minutes and then we split. Deal?”

“Make it 20,” she mumbles before plastering a smile on her face and turning her head away from him. “Hi, Helen.”

“Josh, do you mind if I steal my Chief of Staff?” 

“I should probably get used to this conversation, shouldn’t I?” he teases, squeezing Donna’s waist once more as she leaves his arms. 

She keeps hold of his wrist as she’s walking away with the First Lady. “Come find me,” she mouths to him, giving him a heated look before dropping his hand. 

Josh clears his throat and startles when Sam comes up behind him. “The President wants senior staff in the Oval.” 

He watches as Donna and the First Lady make their way out of the ballroom before turning his attention to his Deputy. “Donna looked okay, right?”

Sam frowns as they walk across the floor, snagging Lou on the way. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, she looked put together, didn't she? Elegant.”

Lou gives Josh an amused look before walking through Josh’s office to get to the Oval. “Which room did you sneak off to?”

“I don’t know what you’re insinuating, Louise.”

She just laughs. “Please. Donna walks out with her hair up and walks back in a half hour later with her hair down and you on her arm with a dreamy look on your face.” She gives him a deadpan smirk as they circle around the Presidential Seal on the rug. “You're not slick.”

“What did he do now?” Amy asks, breezing in with President Santos behind her. 

“ _Nothing_ ,” Josh says forcefully, glaring at Lou as Sam snickers behind him. “What do you need, sir?”

* * *

45 minutes later, Josh finally finds Donna in the lobby waiting for him. She’s chatting to one of the security guards, her bare feet propped up on a bench as her heels dangle from her finger. He grins as she looks up at him briefly before checking her watch. 

“We really gotta work on your time management skills,” she quips. “Your new assistant better have a good watch.”

Josh grabs her hands and pulls her to a standing position as she says her goodnights to the guard. “My last assistant set the bar pretty high. She was always yelling at me and micromanaging my every move.”

Donna hums and leans into his side sleepily. “She sounds pretty great.”

“She is,” he murmurs, kissing her hair and leading her out the side door. When they get outside, Josh sweeps her up into his arms so her bare feet won’t step on anything sharp, and walks them the five steps to their waiting car. 

“This’ll take some getting used to.”

“No more cabs,” he offers as he slides in next to her. 

“I meant you being so nice to me,” she teases and flinches away when he pinches her leg. He pulls her closer, letting her rest against him as the driver pulls them away from the White House. 

“Tomorrow is gonna be weird,” he murmurs, his thumb brushing idly against her shoulder. “No CJ, no Toby.” He sighs deeply. “No Leo.”

Donna tightens her hold around his middle. “It’s your time now, Josh.”

“Yeah,” he breathes and turns toward her. She looks up at him, her hair falling around her face and a soft, sleepy smile on her lips that he traces with his finger. “You on the opposite side of the building.”

“You’ll get more steps in when you come to see me.”

He chuckles softly and moves his hand down to tilt her chin up. “I love you,” he murmurs before kissing her softly. “I couldn’t have done any of it without you.”

She hums happily and cups his cheek to keep him close. “You’re gonna be great. I know it.” She kisses him again and leans her head on his shoulder. “I have total and complete faith in you,” she says, yawning loudly. “Just don't go in the press room.”

He groans. “Everyone’s really over that now.”

“Are they, though?” He whines her name and she giggles. “Think of it this way, babe - you have another four years to secretly fight inflation.”

“I’m breaking up with you.”

“Impervious.”

He grumbles something under his breath and she laughs again as the driver pulls up to their building. An agent opens Donna’s door and hands her a pair of slippers. 

“Todd is officially my new favorite,” she announces as she slips them on her feet and Josh shakes his head as they make their way upstairs. 

“I carried you to the car,” Josh protests. “Doesn't that trump slippers?”

“I planned on thanking you a different way,” she murmurs, fisting his still-undone bow tie in her hand and steering him into the apartment. “Unless you’d just like a declaration.”

“I wouldn’t mind a declaration,” he says, grinning tiredly as Donna grabs his hand. “We could set up a press conference and you can just stake your claim.”

She smiles as they round into the bedroom and drops his hand to go to the bathroom and take out her earrings. “Your fan club would be heartbroken,” she jests. “I’ve speared their white whale.” 

Josh chuckles and comes up behind her, massaging her shoulders and kissing the back of her head. He circles his arms around her stomach and rests his chin on her shoulder, looking at her through the mirror. 

“It’d also do the job of getting these DC worms off your tail.”

She reaches back to pat his cheek. “I’m all yours, Joshua. That’s my declaration. Right here, to you.” She looks him in the eye. “And you’re mine.”

Josh sways them, squeezing her tightly as his heart overflows with love for the woman in his arms. He’s got the toughest job he’ll ever have looming in front of him, but he knows as long as he has Donna, he can do anything. 

“I’m yours,” he echoes softly, giving her neck a sweet kiss. “Let’s go to bed.” He gives her another kiss. “Big day tomorrow.”

“Unzip me,” she says, smirking when he licks his lips as the dress cascades down her body. He fingers the lace string around her hips and palms her ass reverently before tugging down the scrap of underwear. 

“You drive me crazy, you know that?”

“Haven't I always?”

“Yes, but for some reason, being able to actually _do_ something about it makes it even worse.”

She pushes him away as she starts to get ready for bed. “Hang my dress up, will you?” 

Josh gives her one more leering look before grabbing her dress from the floor and going to the bedroom. He sheds his tux and throws his shirt in the dry cleaning pile before pulling on a clean tee for bed. Donna comes in, still buck naked, and roots through the drawers before dressing in practically the same outfit Josh is wearing, and going to sit on the bed and lotion her legs and elbows.

“What did you wear to bed before my clothes were in the picture?” he asks, amused as he joins her under the covers a minute later.

“I have pajamas.”

“I’ve never seen them.”

“Yours are comfier,” she says, rolling over and snuggling into his side. “And wearing your clothes has always been a sign you’ve missed before, too.”

“Nah, that one was obvious. You make ‘em look better anyway. Why do you think I let you do it?”

“‘Cause you had a big crush on me,” she states, grinning when he huffs, and she kisses his jaw. “Go to sleep, Josh.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”

“Just close your eyes,” she whispers, stroking her fingers along his stomach. “Tomorrow will come no matter what. You need your sleep.”

“You know,” he muses, running his palm up and down her back, “if you weren’t here, I’d probably still be at the office.”

“I know. And you’d be half-dead by February.” She leans back to look at him. “But I am here.”

He leans down to kiss her softly. “Thank God for that.”

“Yes,” she agrees, tucking back into him. “Now go to sleep.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a question - do y’all enjoy pieces that only elude to smut but stay teen/mature, fluff only, or pieces that includes the explicit scenes? I’m trying to see something.


End file.
